52 Portraits of a Stranger: Rosa

ROSA

I have been a little lazy with stranger number 3. The wonderful Rosa. This week is a little bit of a chaotic week as I have some albums to design and I am getting organised for my move back to Kent this weekend. Plus this is the time of year where my inbox goes crazy with wedding enquiries and I am on the verge of my little business really flying off onto the next level so my nails are non-existent atm!

My time with Rosa was exactly what it was supposed to be a wonderful conversation that went pretty deep with someone I have never met or talked to before. This is what this project is all about connecting with others. I find people not only opening up to me but me opening up to them.

We met at Charing Cross and walked straight into the mentalness of the women's march against Trump (which I have written about separately HERE) So we fought our way through to St James Park for a coffee where we were attacked by pigeons on regular intervals and we chatted about the important things in life.

Rosa works in software training and she is super well travelled we had living in Switzerland at one stage our lives in common. The two biggest points of our conversation were relationships and health. Two massive things for a lot of people but I always find the journeys of others so interesting.

Rosa is in a happy and fulfilling relationship now but for a long time, she wasn't. Which is actually a common story for so many people. My whole entire working life is filled with amazing couples who have found each other in this crazy world but we forget about the back story of peoples relationship journeys. I am a big believer that people think they are happy when in fact they are just comfortable enough to not want to make a change.

We all deserve amazing happiness but we are the only ones who can take action to have that. Your world is only made up of what you will tolerate.

My own story is similar but with a happy ending for both me and my fiance. 2016 was an uncomfortable year for both of us as after we had a rocky patch and I actually left and have been in Devon while we have worked out what it is we really wanted and thankfully it turns out that its each other.

I go home this Saturday after 6 months apart and I have just realised that the day I am going home to him is our 4 year anniversary. Funny how things happen.

So thank you Rosa for your time last weekend and for letting me take your portrait in an essentially uncomfortable environment and for inspiring my thoughts.